Come now, did you really, really ever believe that Joe Smith would end up wearing a Timberwolves uniform this season? Even if it apparently may have been his own wish to do so (which also stretched the imagination, given the financial hit he was going to take.)

	Joe Smith is now a Piston, but is he happy with the trouble that went down?

It wasn't going to happen because the NBA would have rejected the contract quicker than you can say Dikembe Mutombo. There simply was no way the league was going to sanction a deal between someone it considers an out-and-out perjurer and its current bete noire, the Timberwolves.

Every NBA contract has a clause (Paragraph 20, the Entire Agreement section) which says, basically, "this is all there is. There are no side deals, under-the-table payments, promises of future riches or free satellite TV service." Joe Smith signed not one, not two, but three such contracts with Minnesota -- all of them containing the aforementioned clause and all of them containing secret, well-documented side deals.

What is the league supposed to do when presented with a fourth one from Minnesota and Smith? Pretend that everyone is suddenly telling the truth?

A lot of trees have died chronicling this sad saga. And all for someone who we can charitably call a decent NBA player (though never fulfilling the promise after what he did at Maryland.) The Sixers renounced him, for goodness sakes, after a 31-win season in 1997-98. That's how much they valued him.

Now, it's the Pistons' turn to see if they can turn dross back into gold.

This is the one logical landing spot for the recently peripatetic Smith, because Detroit will have cap room next summer and can reward Smith with some of it. The Pistons also have a need for a skill player up front -- we think Smith is an upgrade over Ben Wallace -- whereas Dallas, the other spurned suitor, is overloaded with power forwards and would have had to unload Shawn Bradley, Christian Laettner and Gary Trent. (They do, however, have an owner who likes to spend.)

It will be very interesting to watch the Smith era in Detroit. He already has missed almost 15 percent of the season and likely will need at least a couple weeks to learn a new system and get in decent shape. He hasn't played against NBA competition since David Stern put the hammer down last month.

Yes, the Pistons will have cap room next summer, but they also are going to be watched like hawks. What if Smith has another so-so season like the one he had last year in Minnesota (9.9 points, 6.2 rebounds) and wants a big payday? What are the Pistons going to do? Especially with Detroit native Chris Webber hitting the free agent market next summer?

Based on what just happened, we would assume that Detroit might take the novel approach of re-signing Smith to a salary commensurate with his contributions. You can be sure his agent will be looking for one of those "potential" contracts with what the great Sydney Greenstreet called "carrying charges." He also will be certain to remind the Pistons that Joe came aboard because of such down-the-road "possibilities."

But that's getting ahead of the game. The Pistons need whatever help they can get. Utter apathy has enveloped this one-time vibrant franchise. You could detonate a neutron bomb at midcourt of most Pistons' games and there'd be no casualties.

There was an "announced" crowd of 13,088 at Detroit's game against Charlotte on Sunday night. Judging by the many camera shots at the game, there weren't 1,000 people in the building in the final few minutes, when the Pistons threatened to catch the Hornets. (They didn't, losing 105-96.)

It's sad, but it's also part of today's NBA. Arenas are now identifiable by the color of their loge seats as much as their NBA tenants.

Smith is not a magnetic, charismatic figure who will fill seats. And even the Grant Hill, playoff-bound Pistons had trouble drawing the last few years. Smith is, however, potentially good enough to step in and help the Pistons tip the balance a little in the convoluted Eastern Conference, where 40 wins could not only get you into the playoffs, but also homecourt for the first round.

Smith, at least, knows he's going to work this season and be paid. The same can't be said for some of his former bosses. Still to be resolved are the penalties/suspensions against team personnel who were in on the dirty deed. Soon-to-be-whacked owner Glen Taylor is already making plans to watch the games from his Mankato home. Basketball boss Kevin McHale apparently has all but gone Garbo.

Smith gets a new home, a modest (by NBA standards) salary and a house in the burbs. He'll still have those cold winters he said he didn't mind. Only when he looks up to pass and sees Billy Owens or Cedric Ceballos instead of Kevin Garnett will he soon realize that he's not in Minnesota anymore.

Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.